Losing Lyndon
by bookgirlFF
Summary: "She was kidnapped. My precious three year old daughter was kidnapped. I can't think, I can't breath, I can't feel anything but grief and loss." Elizabeth and David Wilson were in a way "Picture Perfect". They may have had their issues behind closed doors, but overall they were happy. They had three year old twin daughters, Taylor and Lyndon, who made their lives complete. That w
1. Chapter 1 - Our Family

CHAPTER ONE - ELIZABETH'S POV

The smell of eggs and coffee wakes me up. I yawn and do a little stretch before opening my eyes. I find David standing at my bedside holding a TV tray. I smile faintly at him before I sit myself up. "What is this?" I ask looking at him with suspicion. It's not my birthday or our anniversary or Mother's Day. Last time he brought me breakfast in bed when it wasn't either date, he'd broken our new TV. "Did you break our computer?" I ask.

David laughs. He sets down the tray on the bed and gives me a kiss on the cheek. His breath smells of mint and coffee. "Can't a man bring his wife breakfast in bed simply because he loves her?" He asks.

"Not without his wife being suspicious." I reply. I look down at the tray. There's pancakes, sunny-side up eggs and bacon on a plate; and a coffee mug next to it. "I'm on to you." I say as I pick up the fork.

David sits next to me in bed. He turns on the TV to the news. I watch the TV as I eat. They talk about a missing ten year old boy from Corpus Christi. They show his picture and talk about where he was last seen. _How horrible. I can't even imagine how hard it must be for the family._ I think to myself.

After I'm done eating, David takes the tray. He does it with a smile. _I sure love this man._ I say to myself.

When David comes back into the room he sits beside me on the bed. He turns off the TV. "I was watching tha-" I start to say, but am silenced with David kissing me. It's not one of his quick kisses. It's a deep kiss. I kiss him back.

We're soon wrapped in each other's arms. He's on top of me and goes down to kiss my lips when we hear, "Mama!" He pulls back. I laugh as David lets out a sigh. He's smiling at me, "Another attempted failed." He says as he gets off the bed.

"Maybe next time." I say as I get up.

We both exit our rooms and head to the room where our perfect three-year old twin girls are. Inside we find Taylor, the youngest of the twins, playing with the stuffed animals on her bed. She gets a huge smile on her face when she sees us. "Mama! Dada!" she exclaims. I walk over to her bed and take off the safety-railing.

I help Taylor get down from her bed. The moment her feet touch the ground she races over to her sister's bed. Lyndon, unlike her sister, is still sleeping. She takes after me in the aspect that without an alarm, she'll sleep late into the morning.

David is gently rubbing her back and saying, "Little Lyndon, wake up."

Taylor takes a different approach. She yells as loud as she can, "Wake up, sissy!" I cover her mouth with my hand.

"Taylor, we don't use our outdoor voice inside." I gently scold.

Lyndon stirs a bit. She whines a little before she opens her eyes. David takes off the safety-railing and patiently waits for Lyndon to begin getting out of bed. Once both girls are our of bed, David goes downstairs to start cooking their breakfast.

I help both girls get dressed, which takes lots of patience. Taylor has difficulty understanding that you have to stand still for Mama to help you get dressed. She always has to be moving or doing something. You know how some people say twins are alike? Well, those people haven't might mine.

Lyndon doesn't have a problem standing still for a short period of time. She doesn't like being told what to do. Or more, she doesn't like being told what to do by her Mama. I tell her to put her shoes on, she runs around the house. I tell her to pick up her toys, she makes the room even messier. I tell her to get dressed, she lies down on the floor and refuses to get up.

"Good job, Taylor." I say as I fasten the last button on her shirt. I give her a high five. She is very happy with herself.

Now time for Lyndon. "Lyndon, come to Mama." I say gently.

Lyndon looks at me with a mischievous grin before shaking her head. _Little snicker._ I think. I slowly crawl towards her. She giggles as I get closer. Slowly I reach out my hand. She giggles even more. Once I have my arm around her enough, I quickly pull her to me.

I tickle her. We both laugh. Eventually, I have both girls dressed and at the kitchen table. David gets their food and fills their sippy-cups. I kiss him on the cheek. "Another battle won." I say.

I pour myself another cup of coffee before sitting down at the table. The girls are having their own little conversation about imaginary worlds. I read the newspaper.

"Elizabeth, put down the newspaper and talk to the girls." David says setting the plates in front of the girls.

"They're talking with each other. Besides we had a little quality time this morning." I say.

David feels that I'm not spending enough time with the girls. I work in the afternoon till late in the evening. By the time I get home, the girls are finished eating dinner and heading to bed. It's not my favorite thing in the world, but it's not a surprise. I knew this might be the case when I decided to work.

Getting the girls dressed in the mornings is the best part of my day. It's my quality time with the girls.

"You'll be leaving for work in an hour. You have at least half an hour of time to spend with them." David says.

"I have tomorrow and Monday off this week. I'll take them to park or to do something fun." I say.

David doesn't argue, but I can tell he's not completely satisfied with the answer. I read the newspaper while the girls eat. Occasionally, I'll look up and say something to the girls or wipe one of their faces off.

After they finish eating, I go upstairs and get ready for work. I hear the girls watching something on TV downstairs. "You should spend more time with them in the mornings." David says from the bedroom doorway.

I let out a sigh and roll my eyes, "We've had this talk before." I say.

"I know, but they're only be this young for so long. Soon they'll be older and not want to spend time with us. They'll be slamming doors in our faces before we know it. You shou-"

"I support your writing career 100%. Please support my career and don't constantly nag me about how much time I spend with the girls." I say.

David is silent. I finish tying my hair in a ponytail. I give him a quick kiss before heading downstairs. I go into the living room. Taylor and Lyndon are watching one of their kid shows. They don't even notice I'm there. I kiss Taylor and Lyndon on top of their heads. "Bye Little Lyndon and Tiny Taylor, I'll see you two tonight." I say.

I open the front door. "Goodbye honey!" I call up to David. "Love you!"

"Love you too!" He calls back.

Getting into my car and heading to work, I could never imagine what was about to happen. I didn't know then that this would be the last time I'd see my baby.

***AUTHOR'S NOTE****

I love Finding Carter! It's one of my favorite TV shows. I decided to write this because I really felt like this would be a good idea. Even if you don't watch the show, I feel like you could understand the storyline.

Excuse any errors this was written on an iPad.

THANK YOU FOR READING! I HOPE YOU ENJOYED!


	2. Chapter 2 - Worst Moment

CHAPTER TWO - DAVID'S POV

A trip to the grocery store with a three-year old is hard. Imagine having two, and them being girls who are good at the puppy dog eyes. They must have gotten the trait from their mother, because I stink at the puppy dog eyes. I can't take my eyes off of the girls for a moment. One moment they're being well-behaved. The next, they're trying to climb out of the cart.

Somehow I managed to pick up what we needed and made it to the check out without losing my remaining bit of sanity. The girls behaved fairly well. Especially after I promised to buy them a box of "Cookie Trolls" if they behaved.

Several people behind me in line comment about how adorable the girls are. Questions such as: "How old are they?", "What are their names?", and "Are they identical?" are asked. I only answer the question about them being identical or not, the rest is a little personal. There's this one woman behind me who keeps talking to the girls.

I pull the cart closer to me as I pay. _I'm slightly uncomfortable with this._ I think. After I'm done paying and have the items loaded into the cart, I'm quickly out the door. Why do strangers immediately assume it's okay to talk to someone else's kids?

I buckle the girls into their car-seats and load the car.

"Daddy, can I have a cookie?" Taylor asks.

"Me too! Me too!" Lyndon says.

The time is only one o'clock in the afternoon. I highly doubt one cookie would hurt. _Besides they're being well-behaved._ I tell myself. I open the box and take two cookies out. I give one to each girl and they're faces light up at the sight of them.

They say thank you before devouring the cookie. I'm not even pulled out of the parking lot before they're finished and asking for more. "Maybe later." I say.

My writing is struggling at the moment. Every time an idea comes to me, I lose it before I can get it written down. Taylor is taking her afternoon nap and Lyndon is playing in the play room. I can see Lyndon in the playroom from the door to my office.

She is playing with her doll house and seems very happy. I was hoping Elizabeth's parents would be able to take them for the afternoon so I could focus on work; but they had already made plans. I didn't tell them the true reason I wanted them to watch the girls. I said that Lyndon was wanting to see her "Pop Pop" and "Gammy".

Elizabeth doesn't know that my work's been struggling. To her knowledge, everything is going great and I'm perfectly balancing being a good father, a good husband and bring in some money.

I stare at the word document and beg my brain to think of something. _Blank._ I let out a loud sigh. I close my laptop and glance over at the playroom. Lyndon is still playing quietly. She's being really good right now. _Perhaps some quality daddy-daughter time would be good for the both of us._ I think to myself as I get up from my desk.

"Can Daddy play with you?" I ask opening the baby gate.

Lyndon nods and hands me a doll. I do the "funny voices" that Lyndon loves so much. She always gets this huge smile on her face whenever Elizabeth or I do one. The two of us do our best to keep from waking up Taylor from her nap; but we can't avoid the occasional laughter.

I look out the window. It's sunny. Taylor usually naps for an hour and she went down about twenty minutes ago. "Lyndon, do you want to play ball outside?" I ask.

"Yes Daddy." she says with a smile.

I quickly put on her outdoor shoes and check on Taylor before we go outside. I have the baby monitor right next to the open window. I should be able to hear Taylor if she wakes up. I kneel down to Lyndon's height and gently throw the ball.

The ball bounces right off of her arms. She giggles and runs after it. She "throws" it back to me. It ends up rolling into my hands. She defiantly looks more like me than Elizabeth, in the best way possible. She doesn't have any boyish features. She has my brown hair, my brown eyes and my lip shape. Taylor took after Elizabeth and Lyndon took after me.

I'm about to throw the ball to Lyndon once more when writing brillance hits me. _I have to write this down!_ I think to myself. There's a notpad on my desk in the study, which isn't too far. The study is on the first floor, I'll be gone for thirty seconds at the most. _I can't let this slip me by._ I think to myself. I throw the ball for Lyndon.

Lyndon is running after the ball and having a great time. I'd hate to have to end her fun to drag her inside only to bring her outside a minute later. I've done this plenty of times. The girls know not to leave the front lawn and not to talk to strangers.

"Daddy will be right back. Stay here." I say before running inside.

I'm quick, I hurry to my office. The notpad is actually in a desk drawer; which causes me to look for it. Not even a minute, later I have notpad and pen in hand. I quickly scribble the writing idea on the notpad before going back outside. "Daddy's back." I say as I walk out the front door.

I turn around and see the ball sitting alone in the yard. I don't see Lyndon. My eyes scan the yard. "Lyndon!" I call.

I expect to see her running from behind the house or out of the bushes. I'll scold her for not staying visible, but we'll go back to playing shortly after.

That's not what happens. She doesn't pop out of anywhere. "Lyndon!" I call louder. I don't let the feeling of panic take over my voice. I have to remain calm to avoid scaring Taylor. Lyndon is probably playing hide-in-seek. She loves that game.

"Come out where ever you are!" I yell.

There's still nothing. _No, this isn't possible._ I think as I frantically look around the yard. The ball is still there. She wouldn't leave the ball. She knew I was coming back. She's never run off like this before.

This time, I scream Lyndon's name. I let the panic and fear show. _No, not my little girl._

A couple of people who live next-door to us come outside. They're about to ask what's wrong, but they're quick to figure it out.

She can't be gone. She has to simply be hiding somewhere I haven't looked.

How could have happened? She knows not to run off, she knows never to go with a stranger. I didn't hear anything when I was in the office. I would have heard her screaming for help if someone... took her, wouldn't I?

Taylor won't understand what's happened. She'll ask where Lyndon is. What will Elizabeth and I tell her? _Elizabeth! How will I- How can I possibly find the right words to say?_


	3. Chapter 3 - Cookie Crumbles Apart

CHAPTER THREE - ELIZABETH'S POV

A bag of cookies sits on the passenger's seat, a sweet surprise for David and the girls. Work wasn't too busy and I couldn't get David's words out of my mind. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to have one day where I left work a few hours earlier; and David's right about how valuable this time with the girls is. It wasn't long before noon that I could no longer resist the overwhelming desire to head home, I asked my boss if it was okay if I left earlier. My boss said that my hours looked good and I'd been making good progress. They gave me the green light to go.

On my way home, I decided to take a quick detour to this little bakery in the area where I work. The bakery sells these cookies with cute little designs made from icing. the girls love the cookies there and today's a special day, so why not?

Their first time at the bakery was when they were two years old. David had surprised me and brought the girls to see me for my lunch hour, he said they needed some extra mommy-time. We took the girls to the bakery and the girls went cookie-crazy. They pointed and asked for every single cookie they saw. It was so adorable, we ended up getting them two cookies each and bought a dozen cookies to take home.

I'm approaching the neighborhood when a few police vehicles get in front of me and pull right into the neighborhood. I begin following the vehicle through the subdivision. As we get closer to the house, my heart begins to beat faster in my chest and I can feel sweat start to form. Each turn, the pounding of my heart gets harder. My heart is nearly beating my chest half to death as the vehicles turn onto my street.

 _Was there a robbery?_ I wonder as I get closer to the stop-sign at the end of our street. _Please let David and the girls be okay? I hope they're okay._ I think as I turn onto our street. The moment I'm turned onto our street, I catch the sight I dread the most. There care police cars in our driveway, some parked by the curb, police moving around the law, and police tape creating a square around the lawn. I pull over to the nearest clear curb spot, throw the car in park, throw my seatbelt off, and fly out of the car. I run to our house faster than I've ever run in my life. A police officer in front of the tape holds his arm out to stops me. "This is my house!" I yell. The officer starts to lower his arm and something in his face changes.

I'm about to say something when I see David. He's holding Taylor in one arm.

He sees me and I swear I see him become paler, "Elizabeth." he says loud enough for me to hear.

I push past the officer and rush over to David. The relief of seeing David and my baby is overwhelming. I wrap both of them in an embrace and give Taylor as many kisses on her head as I can. I take her into my arms and press her head against my lips to give her a long list. "Thank goodness you're okay." I breathe into her hair. I give her one more kiss before turning my attention to David, "What's going on here?" I ask gesturing to the police walking around he yard.

I take a look a Taylor and that's when I realize an important missing piece. My feeling of relief begins to fade and my heart starts to pound again. "Where's Lyndon?" I ask trying to stay calm. _She's always wondering around, she's probably trying to get an officer to play with her. That's my girl._

I can feel the major shift in David's mood, he holds his arms out. "Elizabeth, let me see Taylor." he says in a strained-calm tone.

I back away from him and hold Taylor closer, "No." I say firmly. I look around the yard and pray to find catch sight of my baby. "Where's Lyndon?" I ask again, this time firmer and louder.

Taylor starts to whine a bit. "I'm sorry." I say in a soothing and calm voice to her. I let out a sigh and hand her over to David. With a free arm, David wraps his arm around me and whispers, "Let's go inside" in my ear. He leads me into the house. Once we're inside, I remove David's arm from my shoulder. I move in front of him and look him in the eyes.

"Tell me where my little girl is?" I demand. David whispers something in Taylor's ear before setting her down. I watch her run into the living room before turning back to David. The emotion in his eyes is the one I knew would come but dreaded. Anger rises in me, " _David, you better not say what I think you're going to say."_ I say through clenched teeth. Tears begin to well up in my eyes.

"Elizabeth." the way he says his name is painful to hear.

"No, David. You tell me where my baby is, or I swear…" I can't finish the sentence. I let out a breath that is mixed with the start of a cry. I wipe my eyes and look back at him. " _Please don't say it."_ It's a useless plea, but part of me wants to hold onto the hope that I'm making a bigger deal out of the situation.

"Lyndon is gone. Someone took her." Hearing those words is all it takes to cause everything in me to collapse, and I lose it. I practically fall into David and begin to weep with grief. David wraps his arms around me. I start to fight him, trying to get away from him, but I loose the power to fight. I release cries of angry-grief.

I yell at David and hit his chest a few times. How could he let this happen? Why didn't he save my baby? Why… why… why? I'm not sure when he does, but David manages to guide me into the dinning room to avoid scaring Taylor.

I don't remember much of going into the living room, but I do remember looking over my shoulder and seeing Taylor standing in the archway of the living room. She stared back at me, she was so confused. For the first time today, seeing Taylor didn't bring me any comfort or joy.

"Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt you or take one of your daughters?" a police officer asks. I've stopped crying and now I'm entirely focused on getting my baby found. The first forty-eight hours are the most important in a missing persons case.

"No one I can think of." I tell the officer. I look over at David. _Does he know something I don't?_ I wonder. "David, can you think of anyone?" I ask.

"No, no one." he replies. He places his hand on top of my left hand.

The police officer nods his head, "Are you sure there's no one either of you can think of, no you who you've had a disagreement with recently or someone who has taken interest in your family?" the officer asks. "All information is helpful at this time."

I feel something rise in me. "I'm a working mother, I hardly notice people other than my family and co-workers. I might not be best friends with everyone I work with but I know for a fact no one I know, friend or not, would do this." I say defensively. I look at him, with what I can only imagine to be a angry and perhaps scary expression. "Instead of asking about people we don't remember or know, how about you go find my daughter!" I snap.

David squeezes my left hand, "Liz, they're doing their best." he says gently. I snap my head to look over at him I open my mouth to say something but the police officer begins to speak. He's directing his words to David, "Mr. Wilson, it's alright." Then he directs his words at me, "Mrs. Wilson, I assure you we are doing everything we can do to find your daughter."

I let out a sigh, "I don't mean to snap at you, it's just-" I remove my hand from under David's and place my face into my hands. I turn and look at David, "How could you have let this happen?" I ask him quietly.

He opens his mouth to say something but I realize I don't care or want to hear it, not right now. I rise up from my chair, "I can't sit here. My husband can answer the rest of your questions. I'm going out to search for my baby." The officer and David try to stop me, but I'm already walking out of the dinning room.

I dig my keys out of my purse and head the front door. Police officers are walking around our front yard, cameras are taking pictures, there's a few news reporters, and I feel the eyes of the neighbors on me.

Getting into the car, I throw my purse onto the passenger seat. The soft sound of something being crushed follows. I pick up my purse and find the, now crushed, bag of cookies. I grab the bag and open my door. I pour the broken cookie out of my car and start up the engine. I don't know what exactly I'm going to do, but I know one thing.

I will find my baby.

I have to find her.


End file.
